


ATLA: Genesis

by firesky_ (riposte92), riposte92



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Future, Angst, Bending (Avatar), Bloodbending (Avatar), Dystopia, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fire Nation (Avatar), Fire Nation Politics (Avatar), Firebending & Firebenders, Friendship, Gaang Descendants, Gen, Inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Avatar: The Last Airbender, Romance, Slow Burn, Songfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:40:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26253526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riposte92/pseuds/firesky_, https://archiveofourown.org/users/riposte92/pseuds/riposte92
Summary: The Golden Era of Avatar Aang has long passed, and in the centuries since, the dynamics of the Avatar world have seen a drastic shift -  one that is, unfortunately, not for the better. A great rift between benders and non-benders has formed, primarily the result of an ability-based class system that was created by the Fire Nation and adopted around the globe. The benders of each Nation form an unofficial aristocracy through bribes, blackmail, and other illegal means. Bloody clashes between rogue bands of radical militants representing the factions have become a way of life within the Avatar world, and fear rules the hearts of the Nations’ citizens.Unfortunately, new genetic technology recently developed in the Fire Nation has revealed information of paramount concern, and the decisions made in the wake of this discovery have caused the stakes to become higher than ever before. Will this push the already precariously-balanced country, and, in turn, the world, to civil war?Only time will tell.
Relationships: Mai & Zuko Descendant/Fire Nation Royal, Mai & Zuko Descendant/Nonbender
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own the Avatar: the Last Airbender series or related books, characters, and shows. All credit goes to its creators.  
> As always thank you so much to my beta @outroizu, your support makes this story possible :) I will try to update every week on Wednesdays.

The man, hooded and cloaked in shadow, tapped his foot impatiently. “Send your best messenger bird. This message is a proclamation from the Joint Council, signed by His Majesty just this morning and it is imper-”

“Yes, yes, I understand the urgency of this decision. Ten years in the palace and an ear to the politics door does put the magnanimity of it firmly in perspective.” A rustle of paper, and examining the scroll, he continued, “As their handler, I can assure you the birds have never and will never fail.”

“Excellent. I will leave you to it, then.” 

“Of course,” the handler replied. _Please leave soon, and take the reek of that sandalwood incense with you—you’re ruffling the birds,_ he added silently.

The palace courier made his exit, and Taio was accompanied by silence and whirling thoughts once more. _Could it- could it be, maybe, the resolution that changes everything?_

He didn’t look, of course, because breaking the crimson-and-gold seal would be punishable by execution for a lower like him. _Perhaps if I was an upper, I’d risk it,_ he mused bitterly. But Taio the Handler was simply what his title implied, and could never be any more than the lower he was born as. 

So he continued on his way, dismissing the thought as he busied himself with preparing the messenger. 

“You must do well, today, my brave Longwei,” he whispered, the points of the great bird’s claws digging into his leather glove. Longwei blinked as if in understanding. 

It took less than a second for the small message to be slipped into the scroll pouch on Longwei’s leg. Even fewer still for the massive wings to extend and burst forward on a gust of wind. 

And as Longwei’s graceful, silent form disappeared into the night, Taio smiled.


	2. Part One - I

### PART ONE: _LEAVES FROM THE VINE_

### I

“Move! Move! In the name of the King and His Council, clear the way!” a mounted soldier cried, plowing through the converging crowd. Reaching the wooden billboard, he quickly swung a leg over his mount and dropped to the ground, then grabbed a scroll from inside bulging saddlebags. Sloppily adhering the paper to the billboard, the rider disappeared in a cloud of dust.

With nothing to stop their curiosity the people descended on the wooden frame. “What does it say? Does someone know how to read, so that we can all figure this out?” a voice in the crowd cried out. 

A boy raised his hand. “If I may?”

The whispers increased as people stared, some in shock, others in suspicion. Though as dirt-covered as the rest of them, his clothes were of fine, sturdy linen, its dark color further differentiating him from the rough, light-colored cloth of surrounding lowers. Defiant bronze eyes stared back out at the circle that had formed around him, his posture unlike the bent forms of those accustomed to hard labor, full of pride so very much at odds with the despair clouding the slums. Who he was was unimportant. He did not belong, and that was that.

“What, an upper sent to collect even more tax from us? We’re barely scraping by!”

“A boy, no less. Is this some sort of cruel entertainment for the inner city lords?”

“No doubt. Did you hear that they whipped poor Ji to an inch of her life the other day? Screaming all the way that she stole the medicine for her sick family, yet they still laid into her with the bamboo strips.”

“Yeah, and her family died anyway, poor thing.”

A man stepped onto a box hastily procured from a nearby alleyway. “So, what exactly do you want with us, _upper_?” he sneered. “Would you like me to serve you an afternoon luncheon of death and disease? Because that’s all you’re really going to find we have to offer you.”

The boy eyed the speaker and shrugged dismissively. “I want nothing from you, but my offer still stands. It is your decision whether to take it or leave it. I will not fault you either way.”

“And, of course, we should just take your word on that?”

“Again, that’s not for me to decide. But I have my honor, and I will swear on it that what I have just said is true.”

The man scowled. “A vote to decide!” he declared. “Step to my right if you want the boy to read the message, and to my left if you do not.”

The boy surveyed the groups and smiled. “I will read.”

He stepped forward, and the people parted in waves before him. Standing in front of the board he cleared his throat and began.

“By Proclamation of His Most Eminent Majesty, Fire Lord Enlai, and the Joint Council of Uppers and Lowers, the Bending Revival Decree is hereby put into action.”

Scanning ahead, he suddenly paused. His hands, trembling, clenched into fists.

Anxious, angry muttering erupted, disgruntled at the unplanned pause. “Go on!” one person yelled.

“Yeah, we wanna hear the rest!”

“What’s the big deal? Hurry up!” 

The boy nodded, and, breathing in and out, he continued. “Clause one: any activity that may result in a child of mixed bender and non-bender blood is henceforth illegal and punishable by death of the guilty party and their nuclear family.”

One pregnant woman screamed, and the square erupted into mayhem. Lowers began shouting, crying, beseeching someone, anyone, to come and tell them that this was nothing but a fever dream, that the boy had misread the message, that it was all a mistake. But the nightmare was of flesh and bone, and amongst the raging torrent of chaos, the boy stood firm, tears making silent tracks down his dusty cheeks. He was useless, beyond useless to protect these people despite all that he had done. All that he had tried to do. 

And so, head cradled in callused hands, Crown Prince Siyu crumpled to his knees.

_Father…how could you?_

* * *

“Meiyin, Meiyin! Did you see the news? They’ve posted it up to all the boards, even the ones here! Do you think this means-”

Without taking her eyes off of the paper lantern, the girl at the table let out an exasperated huff. “Huan! Please! We have ONE rule in this house that I know you are perfectly capable of following! Do you understand what it means if I mess up?”

Huan crossed his arms, scrunching his face into a scowl. “I know, but it’s really really important!”

“More important than extra money for our savings?”

“Well…” he frowned, chewing on his lip. “No, but-”

Meiyin turned her head to face him, eyes flickering with anger in the fading evening light. “Then I kindly suggest you sit down and let me work in relative peace. You may tell me your news when I’m finished.”

“Okay…” Huan took a seat at the scratched little table, chastised into temporary silence. _I know your job is important. It’s just that this is, too,_ he worried anxiously. _It’ll change our lives._

Suddenly, his head jerked up. “Where’s our father? Shouldn’t he be home by now?”

Meiyin, concentrating, distantly shook her head. “He got held up by a customer who wanted his purchase to be…discreet.”

Huan nodded sagely. _One of those types of days, then. I wonder, who will be the target?_

Meiyin made one last, painstaking stroke of ink and sighed in relief. Tossing her hair back she groaned and stretched, then tucked her hands behind her neck and smiled up at the low wooden ceiling. “That was the last of the hand-painted ones for my stall. When this summer’s Fire Lily Festival comes, I will finally be able to pay for my schooling!” Turning to her brother, she smiled at him. “Now, tell me, what is this urgent news that you have discovered?”

“Well…uh…” Huan stuttered. “T-the government made a decision, you know, about their debate on how to fix the benders-”

Meiyin sat up in her chair and regarded him with a sudden intensity. “What did they decide?”

He smirked. “I think I better just read it aloud,” he said, whipping out a crumpled scroll of paper from behind his back.

She groaned. “Really, little brother? You didn’t have to steal the paper! What if you had gotten caught?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he giggled, blinking both eyes in an attempt at a wink. “I could just give them the slip! No one has to do any sort of catching.”

“Honestly, Huan, it’s a miracle you haven’t been caught already. No dessert for a week.”

“B-but,” he pouted, tears filling his eyes. “I’m a growing boy! I need that to grow big and strong!”

Flicking an eyebrow upwards, the girl lazily picked at her nails. “Growing boys get healthy foods, not sweets. I’ll cut you a deal, though; if you let me see that paper and then get rid of it for us, you can start having dessert again in three days.”

Huan’s face lit with a smile. “Deal!” he sang, crocodile tears forgotten. The stolen paper was quickly handed over, and, lighting a candle, Meiyin could finally examine its contents in full.

  
  


_By Proclamation of His Most Eminent Majesty, Fire Lord Enlai, and the Joint Council of Uppers and Lowers,_ _the Bending Revival Decree is hereby put into action._

_CLAUSE I_

_Any activity that may produce a child of mixed bender and non-bender blood is illegal and punishable by death of the guilty party and their nuclear family._

_CLAUSE II_

_Firebenders will be assigned lifelong partners through genetic testing, which will determine the strongest pairings for producing bender offspring._

_CLAUSE III_

_Firebenders are banned from leaving the Fire Nation._

_CLAUSE IV_

_All children with bending abilities will attend the Firebending Academy in Capital City from age ten onwards._

  
  


The paper finished, Meiyin stared into the distance, exhaustion laying itself heavily on her face. “Destroy it.”

“Like, normal destroy, or…” Huan’s voice dropped to a whisper. “The permanent one?”

“The permanent one. We’ve been reading the theory behind it enough, so now it’s time to practice. Perfect time, too, with Father gone. You know how he can’t handle seeing your bending.” She fixed a glare on him. “Besides, our family doesn’t need to get caught with that stupid thing you stole. Especially now.”

Huan looked down at his boot-clad feet, covered in dust and worn at the toes. “Okay. I’m sorry, I won’t do it again.”

Meiyin nodded and pushed the scroll towards him. “Remember your breathing and control. Picture the goal and aim for it.”

Scooping up the scroll so it rested in his palms, Huan bit his lip. _God, what if it goes wrong? Please not an accident. Not again._

“Are you focusing?”

Huan sighed. “Nervous, that’s all.”

“Take your time.”

_In._

_Out._

_In._

_Out._

_Feel it building…_

_Close…_

_Now!_

Streams of light exploded from his upraised hands, the flames spiraling towards the ceiling, surrounding air shimmering with heat. The paper was long gone, incinerated and blown away, but the fire raged on. 

“Huan, put it out! Put it OUT! PUT IT OUT!” Meiyin screamed, running to grab the water bucket by the door.

_Stop, stop, stop! No, no, I can’t, why won’t it go away? Why can’t I control it?_

He grit his teeth, brown eyes set alight by the hungry flames of the uncontrolled outburst. All of his willpower, dredged up from the darkest corners of his mind, forced itself into one word.

_STOP!_

The flames disappeared like a switch had been flicked. Not a half second later, water followed, drenching Huan from head to toe.

Slowly, he looked up. And Meiyin…Meiyin was smiling.

“We did it,” she whispered. “You firebent on command, turned it off, and even better…you didn’t burn the house down.”

Huan’s face transformed into a grin, and suddenly the two were laughing. Relieved to be alive and grateful to have destroyed the paper, they hugged each other, still shaking with excitement and fear. 

However, the seriousness of what they had done very quickly set in. 

Meiyin was the first to break the hug and, back to business as usual, led her brother to his chair. “We need to talk about that paper and your bending. It has increased, but your control hasn’t.”

“Yes,” Huan nodded. “But can we start with the paper? What does it mean? I know in my heart that it’s important, but I don’t entirely understand.”

Meiyin sighed. _“What does it mean,” indeed. Typical of him to cut to the chase and ask the hard questions first._ Fiddling with her sleeve, she made eye contact with her brother. “It means your life, and everyone else’s, is going to change very quickly.”

“How?”

“Well, let’s see. The first clause, where it talks about mixed bender and non-bender blood is effectively banning benders and non-benders from having children with each other. It also goes on to say that if someone breaks this rule, everyone in their household will be sentenced to death with them.”

Huan’s eyes flared with uncharacteristic anger. “I don’t like that at all. If we’d been born under that rule, our existence would be illegal, and mother and father would be killed for loving each other.”

“Honestly, I couldn’t agree more. But keep that opinion to yourself—you know as well as I that dissent is not taken lightly here.”

“Fine. For now.”

Meiyin looked over at her brother, her eyes full of sorrow. Short in stature and dressed in worn, stained clothes, his body barely contained the indignant rage with which he spoke. _So full of life, of passion and expression and color,_ she thought. _Even at nine, he has the courage to fight for what he believes in._

And, once again, Meiyin came to the same conclusion she had at nine years old, when her beloved baby brother started a fire that burned down their home with their mother still in it.

_He needs to get out of here._


	3. Part One - II

### PART ONE: _LEAVES FROM THE VINE_

### II

The weak light of a new moon illuminated the streets, casting storefronts and houses into darkness. Twilight had long gone, and yet windows remained unlit—an irrefutable reminder of the rebels that roamed the shadows of society. The so-called vigilante justice they meted out was the cause of much strife, and the current power blackout had been no less disruptive. 

It was through this darkened city that a shadow flitted. Blinking in and out of vision, it navigated the back alleys with a sort of familiarity only experience could bring. Closer and closer to the heart of the city it came until finally, the dark, humanoid form stood in front of the outer palace guards. The armored strongmen snapped to attention and unlocked the gates just enough for a single slim figure to slip through.

Siyu was finally home.

Letting out an exhausted breath, he shook himself and pulled his shoulders back. _Posture, Siyu,_ the steely voice of his mother echoed in his mind. Shaking his head, he continued, not towards the lacquered wooden double doors, but rather to the much simpler swinging side-door around the corner. He desperately needed to wash up, perhaps even indulge in a clean set of clothes before giving his report to the Fire Lord. 

Finding the way to his quarters by touch, Siyu opened the wardrobe doors and pulled out what at first glance looked like a nearly identical set of dark clothes. However, upon further inspection it was clear that the garments were meant for more formal occasions, with subtle crimson, apricot, and gold embroidery accenting the fitted shoulders and hems. Colored thread flashed as the ensemble was gently set aside, with Siyu making quick work of shucking off his dirty clothes. Stray droplets from the ensuing splashes traced rivulets down his skin, and as the filtered moonlight from the window hit his figure, it illuminated his back. Or rather, what was left of it.

Criss-crossed with brutal, raised scars set along his lower spine, their white fingers traced veined pathways up over his shoulder blades, a sadistic mimicry of what was perhaps meant to be wings. 

A distant memory flashed, unbidden and unwelcome.

_“My angel, my little angel,” his mother sobbed, a shaking finger pointed at Siyu’s prostrated form. Visible, gaping wounds were actively crying rivers of blood, his life force collecting in an ever-increasing pool on the ground. Tendrils of steam rose from the pitiful sight as Siyu remained still. Lifeless._

_Hazy eyes narrowing, black splotches began to invade the periphery of Siyu’s vision. Grinning deliriously at the patterned interruption he swirled a finger, the liquid below him so warm…so inviting…_

_Feet._

_Running towards him?_

_“Apply pressure…”_

_A burst of pain._

_“His back, my god! How…”_

_A sea of white, and crimson flowers bloomed._

_Rushing darkness._

Skin tightened over knuckles as Siyu carefully assessed, then disregarded the agony of his past self. _Not important,_ he chided himself. _All that’s already happened, and now you’re wasting time over it and keeping Father waiting? Mistake, mistake, mistake, as usual._ He let muscle memory take over the process of clothing himself, and gathering his scattered thoughts, Siyu slammed them into a corner of his mind to collect dust. Only the stone-cold, polished face of the Fire Nation’s Crown Prince would do.

Several long strides led the Crown Prince to the door and into the hallway. Soft taps from the soles of his shoes echoed against the dark corridor, electric braziers on the walls no longer lending their incandescence to light the way. This, however, was but a cursory detail—the Crown Prince felt no apprehension. No fear. Feelings were but a buried memory, locked and caged inside the Siyu that died whenever the nation’s Fire Lord commandeered his son’s presence. _Come in, complete the report, and get out_ was all that was expected, anything more a disgraceful breach of conduct. Usually, Siyu would have been more than happy with that arrangement.

Usually.

Today, though, was not a normal day, and even the best emotional floodgates had their weaknesses. Thus, through a small crack a trickle of anger was able to filter into the Crown Prince’s mind. 

_How could you? How do you dare? Already, under your hand, the lowers slave and the uppers suffer in silence! You take and you take and you take. Do you give no regard to the emotional ramifications of your actions, to the current, fragile state of the world? Of course the bender situation is extremely concerning, but this, this freedom-stripping, child-taking, dehumanizing route is absolutely not the way to go about fixing it-_

Slamming down on his mounting, treasonous thoughts before they went too far, the Crown Prince quickly rounded the corner. One hand straightened reflexively, the fisted other positioned beneath. 

A swift bow at his waist. “Your Majesty.” 

The slim, reedy figure on the throne did not reply immediately, taking several long seconds before he lifted his head. Enlai was his name (with a meaning of “favor coming,” his parents certainly hadn’t been subtle) but at first glance it seemed like anything besides favor had graced him. His physical appearance was of an unfortunate, spidery build, protruding elbows and knees covered with papery skin. Thinning, greying hair and uptilted eyes framed by spectacles completed this male oddity, who, quite frankly, looked more like an ageing professor than the radically divisive Fire Lord of the current generation. 

But despite the Fire Lord’s misleading stature, absolutely no one could take the frosty light in his eyes for anything but cold cunning. The faults he must have struggled to overcome during childhood had clearly not made him any kinder, and the freezing atmosphere that existed in the throne room despite natural heat from sky-high bonfires dispelled any thoughts of mistaking whose presence filled the grandiose space.

“So formal today, _Crown Prince_.”

The Crown Prince did not respond, muscles frozen.

Enlai smirked. “But yes, you’re right. The game must be played. You may rise.”

Presence acknowledged, the Crown Prince’s back straightened, hands hanging loose by his sides. “I have a report on the matter of interest you assigned to me, should you wish to hear it.”

“Go ahead.”

“The purchase was successful—as usual.” The Crown Prince held up a small bag, flickers of light from the flames revealing it to be of a burlap cloth. 

“Give it to me, then you may go.”

The bag was handed off, but the Crown Prince remained, casting a swift glance at the mysterious item. Catching the slight motion Enlai resettled himself on his throne. “Go ahead and ask. Your curiosity is palatable.”

“What is it?”

“You think I’m going to answer that directly? Use what you already know. That is, assuming you’ve been paying attention, which I’m aware is a novel concept for you.”

The Crown Prince arched a brow. “There are several areas of the Fire Nation which are known for black market dealing, that one among the worst of them. I don’t believe the area’s drug specialty was just a coincidence, either, seeing that I am always given a sachet of…whatever…per a set of very specific instructions. This leads me to believe that you, our Most Eminent Majesty, are purchasing illegal substances.”

The Fire Lord’s eyes glittered. “Go on. You’ve got more, don’t hold back.”

 _Careful, careful,_ the Crown Prince thought. 

When he spoke his reply, it was much quieter. Tamed. “So by my deduction, you’ve been buying something dangerous enough to be illegal. A poison, most likely. That means there are people with targets on their backs.”

“Tsk, tsk. My dear Crown Prince, that is not a question.”

Anger flared. “Fine, then. Who are the targets? What did they do? And why was I kept in the dark? Those are questions.”

“And you are not privy to those answers.” Ignoring his son’s indignant reaction to this, he continued. “Enough has been said. You have much more information than you deserve, no thanks to that little stunt you pulled in the square today.”

“I-”

The Fire Lord’s sharp voice cut him off. “Explicitly told not to interact, you have disobeyed a direct order from both your reigning monarch and your father, though I’m not sure if I should consider vermin like you viable offspring for the throne.” 

The Crown Prince barely blinked at the insult, to him just another regularity in the life he led. Instead, he persisted. “So it was purely coincidence that the edict was released at _just_ the right moment for me to see it? For me to bear the burden of translating the news to the blissfully ignorant? I personally am of the opinion that I played the role you laid out for me quite beautifully, ‘explicitly ordered’ be damn-”

“Do not weave your treacherous insinuations.” Enlai’s nostrils flared, the first sign of discomposure all evening. “I don’t know why I’ve tolerated this disrespect tonight. Rest assured that it won’t happen again. You are dismissed.”

He was already on thin, thin ice. _Who else has the opportunity you do?_ The Crown Prince goaded himself. _For the people, Siyu. You are their one and only advocate. The responsibility rests on your shoulders alone._

So, despite the consequences he knew it would bring, he attempted one last push. “Yes, of course you call it disrespect and dismiss me whenever I have a valid opposing point. Why can’t you just consider what I say? Why do you treat everyone’s viewpoints like they’re expendable? You go and you strip away their last freedoms, their right to make a life with those they love-”

“GUARDS!” Black-clothed men appeared out of the shadows, their flame insignias marking them as benders of the Fire Lord’s personal guard. “Remove this boy from the room before I punish him for his insolence.” 

Siyu’s arms were trembling as rough hands wrenched them behind his back. Forcing his legs to move, he complied with the small phalanx of guards that began to escort him out of the throne room. _Thirty…twenty…ten…_ he counted. _Almost there, almost out, almost-_

“Stop.” An abrupt halt from the guards. “Let him turn to face me.”

They did so.

An oily smile graced the bespectacled face. “You know, my dear, as much as you’d like to make me out the villain of this story, I do have the future of this country to look out for. So, fine. Let’s imagine your way. You don’t make the decree to consolidate the firebending gene pool, which logic and genetics both clearly dictate as being the surest way to produce _more_ desperately-needed benders. How would you revive the bending population?”

Silence reigned supreme in the room.

“Anytime now. I’m waiting.”

Siyu’s mind raced frantically. _What he’s doing is so, so wrong. I know that. Everyone knows that. But what about the firebenders? They’re a hallmark of the Fire Nation, integral aspects of our culture and religion and society. Is it not as unfair, if not more to let them die out? That affects everyone. The edict doesn’t affect everyone as drastically, and in fact impacts some people in no way whatsoever._

“I- I don’t know.”

“Well, then. It looks like my solution is, for now, the only solution.”

Siyu began to turn away, his heart a jumble of emotions.

“Oh, and Siyu? I’d like to remind you that as a firebender under my new edict, you now have an obligation to keep the ability alive. Do not forget your duty to our people.”

For the first time in his life, Siyu met his father’s eyes. “Don’t worry. I never have.” _Unlike you._

And with that last, oh-so-subtle barb, the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation turned his back to the Fire Lord. 


	4. Part One: III

###  _PART ONE: LEAVES FROM THE VINE_

### III

_He was running through a forest, frantic. Looking for something. Someone. Why couldn’t he find them? Where were they? Better yet, WHO were they?_

_Suddenly the world spun, the sky a sea of blue below him, trees hanging from above. Gravity took hold and he fell headfirst into the clouds. Heart racing, arms flailing he braced for impact._

_Instead, he was met with nothing. The world was grey. Buildings were grey. How, then, was he making tracks?_

_Stooping to touch the ground, his fingers came away with smears of powder. The astringent scent in the air hit him like a truck._

_Something was burning._

_“You’ve done all this, you know,” A tinny voice came from behind._

_Huan whipped around to face the speaker. A small, black-haired boy gazed up at him, sucking on his thumb. The boy gestured to the baby blanket he held, ragged and full of smoking holes. “It got b-burned,” he stuttered, lip trembling. “And there’s nothing that’ll make it better. Nothing!”_

_“How? What happened?” Huan cried. He reached out to pull the boy closer but stopped when the child flinched away._

_“No! If you touch me, I’ll go away like everybody else.”_

_Eyes stinging from the smoke Huan knelt in the ash. “Please, can you explain? I’m scared. Just like you.”_

_The boy’s face morphed into a sneer, and his form flickered. “No. You’re not like me. I used to belong. You never did. You took my nana, my papa, my mama. I’ll never see them again.”_

_“Where did they go?”_

_His form flickered again, charred flesh hanging off bone. Just as quickly, the little boy reappeared, and taking his thumb out of his mouth, his eyes glazed over. Delight lit his olive-toned features._

_“Mama?”_

_A sudden gust of wind sent the burning blanket skywards. Huan gasped. “Your blank-”_

_The world went white._

“Huan? Huan!”

Huan gasped and sat up. Long hair tickled his face, smelling of ink. _Meiyin._

Meiyin looked at him with concern. “You were shouting. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just a bad dream.”

Meiyin sighed. “I’m sorry. Do you think you can go back to sleep? I’ve got to get up now to help Father with the shop, but you still have another couple hours till daybreak.”

Huan laid back down on his mat with a thump. “I’ll try,” he said somberly. 

“Okay. Rest well.”

Meiyin left the small sleeping room, still bothered. _His sleep hasn’t been this disturbed in years,_ she worried. _I hope it’s nothing permanent._

Her father was waiting for her at the door. “All good?”

“Yeah. We can go now.”

Without further ado the pair stepped out onto the street, holding a lantern between them. The district was far from safe in the best of times, and with the power still out a light had become a necessity. Though Meiyin knew that all the money that could be spared was being saved for a new residence, she still scowled at the snail-like speed of its accumulation, muttering under her breath as she checked adjacent alleyways for suspicious activity. _Way, way too easy to fall into trouble here,_ she thought. Smiling bitterly at her family’s predicament, she concentrated on keeping pace with her father, then returned to thinking. _That’s hypocritical of me to say, though. We’ve already fallen. Now it’s just a matter of how deep we’re going to go._

“The shop,” as it was called, had been a dream of her father’s ever since he was a little boy. Throughout his childhood and adolescence his family had barely scraped by as tenant farmers, and he had witnessed firsthand how brutal the life was. “My first and foremost thought,” he liked to declare, “was that my children shouldn’t have to grow up with torn nails and rotting teeth as they constantly battle their never-ending hunger.” So despite his family’s wishes, the day he came of age he set off for the capital with nothing to his name, determined to make fantasy reality.

One dowry and several hard years of manual labor later a store had entered the realm of possibility. The risk was great—after all, every penny of what was her parents’ life savings would go into getting the business up off the ground—but Meiyin’s father convinced his wife that he could make it work. 

After that, the building proceedings moved quickly, and the lease was sealed the day before Meiyin’s fourth birthday. An herb and apothecary store was soon opened in a middle-class marketplace and slowly but steadily began to attract customers. Better schools, better clothes, more nutritious food soon followed, and talks of living closer to the center of the city became a recurring discussion. Fortune seemed to have rewarded the family’s early struggle for survival. 

But Huan coming along changed everything.

It was clear that he had taken after their mother when, at eight months old, he was caught playing with wood chips like they were candles, lighting them on fire and nudging them into a nearby puddle while nobody was watching. Several incidents followed: a scorched table, a flaming blanket, Meiyin’s science notebook becoming ash (a point she still occasionally brought up all these years later). He was strong, stronger than anybody had expected from a child of such a lowborn family. 

Unfortunately, this opened the family to speculation. _Unnatural,_ people hissed behind their backs, stares and the occasional finger following Huan as he toddled down the street. _His mother must be a witch. How else could he have been born with such gifts?_

Meiyin raged with indignation whenever she heard the whispers. “It’s not even a bad thing! Why do they criticize us so much?” she would cry to her mother. 

The tanned, lithe female would always respond with a gentle smile, smoothing her daughter’s hair as she spoke. “Don’t be angry at them. To shun difference is an instinct, because difference means change. They’ll come around in time.”

Meiyin never got to find out if her mother was right, because one midsummer's day, everything came to a head.

The heat had turned oppressive, and Huan had been a terror all morning, crying about everything and nothing all at once. Frustrated with him Meiyin had stormed away, ignoring what her parents had said about always watching the baby. 

This, of course, meant she would forever blame herself for what happened next.

Like he tended to do when his emotions got the best of him, Huan accidentally set something on fire. No one could be quite sure of what the flammable item’s identity was, but regardless, it went up in flames. And thanks to the heat of the day, it didn’t stop.

 _We lost everything that day,_ Meiyin thought, dark clouds of self-loathing swarming through her head. _Worst yet, it was all my fault. Huan was only a baby._

_I. Was. Supposed. To. Be. There._

_My fault._

_My fault._

_My fault._

“Meiyin?”

Meiyin blinked, eyes widening when she saw that they had arrived. “Yeah? Sorry, I was thinking.”

Her father frowned and gestured to the small broom in the corner. “Well, no more of that. You’ve a lot of work ahead of you. No slacking.”

“Understood.” She picked up the wooden handle and bit her lip, then started sweeping. The constant in-and-out of customers meant dirt and debris had been strewn everywhere across the floor. It wasn’t their fault, of course, but Meiyin felt a stirring of resentment anyways. _There’s a mat in the entryway for a reason! Why can’t they take a hint?_

_Shhhh, shhh, shh,_ went the broom over the floor, and she tried to focus on the constant motion to soothe her nerves and her mind.

A little voice in her head fought back. _Who are you to berate them? They’re not the one that killed their mother._

The broom handle dropped to the ground.

“Meiyin!” her father barked, anger lacing the syllables.

“I- I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

He turned away. “How about you take the morning off? You’ve been preoccupied, and it’d probably be more efficient if I just finished it up.”

The offhand comment stung. She knew he didn’t mean to, that he was just a little blunt sometimes, but tears threatened on the periphery of her vision. Without another word she nodded and walked to the door, flinging it open and stepping out onto the dawn-lit street. It was almost unfair, really, that she was such a mess during this beautiful weather. 

_Maybe a walk will clear my head._

Meiyin started moving, unconsciously letting her feet carry her forward as she lost herself in thought. The cool morning air held the promise of lethargic afternoon heat, but for now felt sweet and inviting, carrying on it the smells of roasting meat and fried batter. The city was waking up. _Her_ city was waking up. 

For all its dark and foul corners she couldn’t help but love it, love the people living in it. They were fellow cogs in the huge, seamless machine of the place, and loyalty to her kinsmen was a constant beat in her heart. Capital City was life, and life was Capital City. Simple as that.

A knock to her shoulder ripped Meiyin out of her reverie. 

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” A gruff voice rumbled as he passed by. “Wouldn’t want a sweet thing like you to get run over, now, would we?”

Meiyin wrinkled her nose and ignored the comment. _Disgusting,_ she thought. Then she looked around. _Where am I?_

The small square she had walked into was quite busy, but a quieter building off to the right caught her attention. Walking towards it she realized that it was gated. _A gated place? Whatever for?_

Five seconds later, a plaque answered her question, and she gasped.

**Capital City Research Institute**

**Levels 1 and 2**

Meiyin stretched out an arm to brush the letters in awe. _God, if only we had the money,_ she thought, wistful at the memory of all of her starry-eyed dreams. But she withdrew her hand quickly, as if she had been burned. _Don’t get your hopes up like this. Maybe if the accident hadn’t happened, you would’ve been in a better position, but now Huan needs to come first._

The fire hadn’t just burned down what they had, it’d shattered their bright future. The rumors surrounding Huan combined with the death of their mother had cemented the citizens’ suspicion of the entire family, and, in turn, their business. They struggled for years, until one dreary day when their luck finally ran out. Their father had been left with no choice but to fall to a new low: borrowing from a loan shark to keep the family afloat through an entire season of bankruptcy. 

Of course, the price was steep, and to pay back both the money and the interest it would take more revenue than the slowly reviving store could generate on its own. Desperate to pay back the debt and to keep his children safe, the once-moral store owner had turned to becoming a merchant on the black market.

Meiyin hated the duplicity of it all. _We heal and we kill, we heal and we kill,_ she would always murmur under her breath whenever their father came home smelling like cheap liquor and sweat. Desperation was an awful, horrible beast of a motivation, though, and despite her deep misgivings she remained silent on the matter. 

_Survival of the fittest, Meiyin._

_Survival of the fittest._


End file.
